A Million Times
by Fyoex
Summary: -I hadn't expected to die. But if I had, I would still do it a million times over, then a million times again. Without a second thought.- One-shot. AU. Character Death.


_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own Naruto, I am only using/torturing them for entertainment purposes._

_**A/N: **__Haha, it's my great honour to present to you another character death story, though this time it's a Naruto one and styled very differently. I haven't read any fics like this yet, but I want to._

_**Summary: **__I hadn't expected to die. But if I had, I would still do it a million times over, then a million times again. Without a second thought._

_**Warnings: **__AU, character death, one-shot, humour, from Naruto's POV, a few swear words and no Iwa war. If you don't like anything mentioned, either don't read, or give it a go and see what happens. Please inform me of any mistakes so I can change it~_

_**Pairings: **__To be honest, it's for you to decide whether it's Minato/Naruto, but the way I intended was it to be platonic, and only love for a brother._

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**A Million Times**

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It had been three days since I died.

I casually sat atop the Hokage Mountain, with my legs over the side. There were three heads currently carved into the cliff face, and I still remember dreaming that it would be my head in the very spot I was sitting on.

I laughed.

Dreams like that… even if I was still alive, I'm sure I wouldn't have become Hokage. And there was just one reason for that.

Because I'm certain my brother will become the Yondaime.

I like to think of life as a box of chocolates, though not in the way you'd expect. I like to think that there are three stages to life.

When you open the box of chocolates, that's when to come to realise your dream, your ambition, or goal in life.

When you eat the chocolates, that's when you fulfil your dream.

When you throw away the box is when your life ends.

Everyone has a box, but not everyone will open it. Out of those that do, not everyone can eat their chocolates. But it is certain that everyone will throw away their box some day, whether it be unopened or empty.

I look at the ground by my side, where a small ant is crawling.

I squish it.

Lifting my finger, I'm unsurprised to find the ant completely unscathed, and still walking around as if nothing happened.

I suppose I should be calling myself a ghost now, or a spirit.

I'd never believed in ghosts, and to some extent I still don't. I cannot prove that I am specifically a ghost, and I haven't met any other 'ghosts' yet. In fact, I don't even now why I'm still in this 'Living Realm' or whatever.

Well, I guess this is my chance to look back on my 16 year long life as a Konoha ninja.

My brother always took care of me. He played the role of Mother and Father perfectly, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I chuckle. Perhaps he was a little over-protective of me. I remember once when Jiraiya-sensei gave me an orange book. I hadn't even opened it yet when my brother suddenly appeared, snatched the book out of my hands and burnt it to a crisp with a quick Katon jutsu. He then proceeded to chase sensei all over Konoha shouting bloody murder.

It wasn't until a few days later I found out exactly what Jiraiya-sensei had given me. Then I proceeded to chase sensei around the village shouting bloody murder, while my brother ran with me smiling proudly and handing me a few newly sharpened kunai every so often.

I chuckled into my hand at that memory.

Life was good. Even though we were orphans, me and my brother were happy.

My brother was always a better ninja than I was. He was two years older than me, and though we graduated from the academy at the same time, he was still better than me at everything. Everything, except for speed.

I'm proud to say that I was 1.8 seconds faster at running than my brother. Even in the ninja world, me and my brother were renowned for our speed. When we ran, it was like a blur that even a Sharingan had a hard time following. Also, I'm proud to say that I am very adept at the Kawarimi.

Unfortunately I'm only fast at running, everything else to do with speed, my brother trumps. But I didn't care. I was proud of my brother.

I still remember when I opened my box of chocolates.

"_Nii-san! I passed! I'm a jounin now!" I shouted loudly. _

_My brother literally picked me up, hugged me tightly and twirled me around until I was dizzy. He was shouting as loud, if not louder than me._

"_Naruto! You passed! Nii-san is so proud of my little otouto!"_

_I laughed, then bopped him on the head._

"_Don't call me little otouto, it makes me sound like a baby."_

_He just grinned at me and pinched my cheeks._

"_That's because you are one, my little otouto~" he cooed._

_I huffed and turned away, officially sulking._

"_Aww Naru-chan, don't be like that!" he whined. "Your Nii-san is here to treat you to ramen."_

_That did it._

"_Ramen…" I drooled._

"_That's right. As a congratulations for becoming a jounin."_

_I beamed happily at him._

"_You know what this means?" I said._

_My brother blinked. "Err, that you are officially a jounin?"_

_I nodded. "Exactly, and that means that I can now protect you."_

"…"

"…"

"_KYAAAAAAAAAAA~!" _

_Glomp._

"_Gah, Nii-san! Did you just scream like a little girl?"_

_He just continued to crush me for a minute or so, before finally letting go. Luckily everyone in the village was used to this. _

_My brother had tears streaking down his face, though they were tears of joy._

An image of my brother's tear-streaked face flashed through my mind, but this time there was nothing but despair, sorrow and agony.

I shook my head. I hated to see my brother so upset. A panic I was unconsciously suppressing was rising up, but it quickly died down.

"_Nii-san! Why are you crying?"_

"_Because my otouto is so cute!" _

_At this point, he hugged me again and rubbed his cheek against mine._

"_There's no need for you to protect me from anything Naru-chan."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Silly otouto, because I'll be the one protecting you. I'll always protect you."_

_I blinked._

"_Now let's go get some ramen. Jiraiya-sensei is waiting."_

I smiled at this memory. That's my favourite memory, because that's when I had opened my box. My dream was to protect my brother, who had done so much for me, no matter what.

Then I got three precious little darlings. I may have already opened my box, but meeting them just increased the amount of chocolate.

"_Please? Please? Pretty pretty pleaaase?"_

_The Sandaime sighed as my brother begged pitifully. I could almost hear the snickering the supposedly silent Anbu in the shadows made._

…_Scratch that, I could definitely hear the snickering._

"_So," the Sandaime started, "you want to be paired up with Naruto to teach the same team…"_

"_Yes!"_

"_Why? You are not going far away from Naruto."_

"_But we've always been together! We fight the best together, and I have to protect my little otouto!"_

_I blushed._

"_Nii-san!"_

_The Sandaime sighed._

"_Very well…"_

"_Yay!" My brother pranced around._

"_But you'll be teaching a team of two genin and one chunin."_

_Instantly my brother changed from dancing lunatic to a more serious/interested mode._

"_Oh? An exceptional student?"_

"_Yes, it is Hatake Kakashi."_

_That explained it well. Both of us sobered up. It was a tragedy, what happened to Hatake Sakumo._

_The Sandaime nodded. "You'll also be teaching recently graduated genin Kirato Rin and Uchiha Obito."_

"_Ooh, an Uchiha," I note._

"_You are two of the best jounin we have, so the council, aswell as I, am expecting your team to become one of our greatest."_

_We both smiled._

"_Hai, Sandaime-sama."_

I startled out of my memories when a person sits down right beside me. I stare at my brother, who is so much different from my memories.

And not just in age.

My brother is facing towards Konoha, so I gather that he doesn't know I'm there. His eyes are still red, and looking closely, I could still see the tracks of his tears. He's sitting with his knees against his chest. I could easily tell he was depressed, and it would have been funny, if it wasn't because of my death.

I reach out my hand to touch his face. I wanted to comfort him, consol him, something…

But alas, my fingers slipped right through him, and he didn't react.

I almost started crying right then and there, and the panic was coming back.

"Why…"

I froze.

My brother's shoulders shook.

"Why did you…"

He choked up, and buried his head in his arms.

I go onto my knees and tried to hug him.

"Nii-san, stop crying please. It hurts me seeing you like this."

I could hear my own voice, but he could not hear me.

I continued holding him until his shudders stopped. He just sat there now, silent tears soaking his sleeves.

Another figure appeared. It was Jiraiya-sensei. He had a sad, grim face on.

"Minato…"

"Leave me alone, sensei."

Both me and Jiraiya-sensei flinched. Not at the words, but at just how _emotionless_ he sounded.

"Everyone's worried about you," he tried again.

Minato finally lifted his face. Tears were still dripping down.

"I… just… need some time alone… to think."

Jiraiya-sensei stayed silent, before nodding and disappearing again.

I continued to look at where my sensei had been a few moments ago. It broke me, knowing that I'd never be able to talk to him again. Even being a pervert, he is a good sensei and friend. Was a good sensei and friend.

We sat there in silence for a while, and I thought back to when I first met the little miscreants I call my students.

_Me and my brother arrived early at the meeting place, but hid in a tree. No, we were not being stalkers; we just wanted to understand our students a little without them knowing._

_Hatake Kakashi arrived first. His silver gravity-defying hair made us chuckle in the tree. His face was masked below his eyes._

"_He looks just like Hatake-san," I said, "even with the mask."_

_My brother nodded in agreement._

_Next was Kirato Rin. As soon as she spotted Kakashi, hearts appeared in her eyes and she swooned. Up in the tree, me and my brother sighed. It was well known among jounin-sensei's that fangirls were the least liked students. Though topping that list were those who didn't try hard at all. They were usually failed rather quickly._

"_Should we go down now?" I whispered to my brother._

"_No, let's wait until the third student comes."_

_That turned out to be a bad decision. Well, I guess it wouldn't have made much of a difference waiting in the tree or on the ground, because either way we had to wait for at least and hour before our last to-be student came crashing in._

"_Waah, sensei, I'm so sor… oh they aren't here! Yay! That means I'm not late!" Obito shouted in glee._

"_Actually, the time set was for us to meet here at 7:30am sharp, so you are… one hour and 10 minutes late," Kakashi said in a disgusted voice._

"_You are such a slacker, Obito!" Rin shouted._

"_But I have an honest reason! And old woman was having a hard time carrying her bag, so of course, me being such a gentleman, I carried her bag for her to her house, but it was all the way to the other side of the village… And besides, our sensei is late too!"_

_We smirked. That was the line we were waiting for._

"_Actually…" We appeared before our students, and their reaction was hilarious._

"_We arrived 10 minutes earlier than the set time. In fact, you three are all late," my brother said with a smirk._

_Kakashi opened his mouth to protest, but I beat him to it._

"_You are late because it is always a good idea to arrive at any unfamiliar meeting place 10 minutes early to scope everything out. For all you guys knew, this might have been a trap."_

_My brother continued. "And if it was a trap, you three would all have failed."_

_All three students were in stunned silence. In our minds, my brother and I were cackling in glee._

"_But we are merciful," my brother said. "This is not a trap. We just wanted to get to know you a little. Let's start introductions then. My name is Namikaze Minato, you may call me Minato-sensei. This is my younger brother, Namikaze Naruto-chan."_

"_Oi!" I shout._

_He just laughed and continued. "We are both your sensei's. You were given two sensei's because the Hokage acknowledged you strength, and wanted our team to become elite."_

_Liar._

"_Introduce yourself, and say your likes and dislikes, aswell as your hobbies and dreams. You start Kakashi."_

"_My name is Hatake Kakashi, I don't really like a lot of things, I dislike those who don't follow ninja rules such as lateness, my hobbies are training, and my dream is to become a good shinobi."_

_Obito snorted, "You are so boring,"_

_Kakashi glared at him._

"_Next," I said._

"_My name is Kirato Rin, I like… (blush) err, sweet food… and I don't like Obito!"_

"_Hey!"_

"_And my hobbies are… (blush) err, arranging flowers… and my dream it to become a great medic-nin."_

_Well, at least she has a good goal…_

"_My turn! My name is Uchiha Obito, I like playing pranks! I don't like Kakashi-teme! My hobbies are training, and my dream is to become the Hokage!"_

_I smiled. I like him._

"_Alright then. Technically, you are not our students yet. You have to past a test. If you fail, Rin and Obito will be sent back to the academy and Kakashi will become a genin again," my brother said._

"_What! But I just became a genin! I'm not going back!" Obito shouted._

"_Then you better pass this test," I said cheerfully._

"_What's the test?" Kakashi asked._

_Me and my brother smirked._

"_It's called the Bell Test…"_

In the end, they did end up passing with a little difficulty, and Team Namikaze was born. It took about two years for Kakashi to become a jounin and Rin and Obito to become chunin. Since they were still young, we stayed a team.

I look at my brother. He's just sitting there now, unmoving. The light that was in his eyes a mere three days ago has gone. He has become dull.

I close my eyes as I think back to that day.

"_Nii-san! It's time to wake up!" I shouted. A groan was the only reply._

"_Come on! We have a mission!"_

"_It's just guarding a Konoha outpost, isn't it?"_

"_Well, yeah…"_

"_Then what's the rush?"_

"…"

_My brother chuckled and got up. We had a light breakfast, and chatted amiably about the progress our precious students had made._

"_Most consider Team Namikaze as the most elite," my brother said._

_I smiled hesitantly. _

_I feel a little pressured. The council had been demanding more and more from us. My brother didn't have a problem, he was a prodigy. I, on the other hand, could never compete._

_My brother noticed my silence. Not that he ever misses anything about me. He got up and hugged me._

"_It's okay, my little otouto. Us working together with our team, everything will be fine. Wasn't it your dream to become Hokage?"_

"_It still is," I said._

"_And what is your reason?"_

"_That's easy. So that I may protect everyone in this village. And to protect you."_

_He smiled and kissed me on the forehead._

"_I love you, Naru-chan!"_

_I blushed. _

"_Come on, Naru-chan! Say you love me too~!"_

"_Nii-san!"_

_A cough from the window interrupted us. It was Kakashi, a cross between looking amused and embarrassed. _

"_You didn't show up at the gates, so I came looking for you…"_

_We blinked, before realising the time._

"_Oh shoot!"_

_It was a simple mission, C-Ranked. We were to guard one of Konoha's outposts. So, of course, there were complaints. Lots of complaints. From one person._

"_Mina-sensei! Naru-sensei! Why do we have to do this! We're Team Namikaze for crying out loud!" Obito shouted._

_I rubbed my eye. A habit whenever I got frustrated. My brother beside me had slightly more patience then me._

"_Obito, for the fourth time, it's because there was a shortage of available shinobi. Now please stop complaining, we are only staying there for three days and two nights."_

"_But it'll be so boring!"_

"_Suck it up, Obito," Kakashi snarled. His patience was also wearing thin._

"_How about I teach you all a new jutsu?" my brother said. That got everyone's attention._

"_Really? What, what?" Obito said eagerly._

_My brother laughed. "Learn to relax a little. Anyway, I'll be teaching you all the Rasengan."_

_Eh?_

"_Eh?" I voiced out. "But we haven't finished that yet?"_

"_Iie, we haven't, but it's still powerful enough to be a good attack. And it has no element, so anyone can learn it."_

_My brother frowned. "Does it bother you?"_

"_No, no, I was just surprised! I don't have any problems, I promise!"_

_My brother always thought about me._

_He smiled. "Alright then. Students, I'll be showing you the jutsu now, so watch carefully."_

_He held out his right hand. Blue chakra began spinning into and spherical shape, until a sphere formed. The jutsu wasn't perfect though, as several wisps of chakra kept escaping._

"_I've kept the chakra input small, because too much chakra and it explodes on me, so it's not incredibly powerful. Here," he said, and walked to a nearby tree. He smashed the ball into its trunk, and it exploded, putting a large crater into it._

_Our students stared in amazement. The possibilities for a jutsu like that was amazing._

"_Your task is to figure out exactly how I created that jutsu. Don't try it yourself yet, that could be disastrous."_

"_Hai!" all three chanted. The rest of the journey was walked in peaceful silence._

Oh, I haven't tried to use any chakra yet. I held out my hand and tried to bring up chakra.

Zilch, nada, not one drop.

It was worth a try, I suppose.

I face my brother, who had been sitting there for over two hours.

"Nii-san, it's getting cold and late, we should go back home…"

There was no reply.

Oh, that's right, I'm dead.

I close my eyes, feeling the agony of my suppressed panic rise up. I took deep breaths, and it slowly subsided.

It just had to be on the very first day, didn't it…

"_All three of you got it wrong, though Kakashi and Rin were close," I said._

"_How was I wrong?"_

"_Hmm, maybe it was the part where you said: 'swirly chakra ball thingy goes boom.'" My brother said with a smirk._

_He slumped._

_We explained how the Rasengan worked, and sent them a ways off to try and practise it._

"_You are cruel, you know that?" I said._

"_Yeah, I know. It's just too fun to mess with them."_

_It was extremely hard to create a Rasengan without first mastering the three steps._

"_When are you gonna tell them?"_

"_Well, I was thinking I'd wai-"_

_We froze. _

_Shi-!_

_**Boom!**_

_The exploding paper bomb thrown sent me flying back a bit. I was able to right myself, but ears were ringing badly and dust was everywhere. Luckily the dust quickly settled, and I saw my brother fighting two ninja, and my students each fighting one._

_I swung back, pivoting on my left leg as I kicked the ninja behind me. I noted the Iwa insignia on his Hitai-ate. _

_I pulled out my kunai and threw it at the ninja's chest. He dodged it, but it still hit his arm. Before he knew it, I had appeared before him and slammed a kunai into the side of his head._

_I lifted my head just in time to see an enemy ninja throw three kunai, but not in my direction._

_My mind raced, and took everything in. My brother had just finished jabbing his kunai into the second ninja's neck. He had his back to the kunai._

_I didn't think anymore, I just acted._

_I switched places with my brother using a Kawarimi. Before I could even move, the three kunai slammed into me._

_One hit my left shoulder. Hardly fatal, hurt like hell, but survivable._

_Another hit my stomach. Could be fatal, but with a great medic-nin like Rin around, It wasn't likely I'd die._

_The last hit my heart. There was nothing that could have been done._

_I was thrown back from the impact, and I gasped in pain as my back hit the ground. Distantly, I heard my brother scream my name and appear beside me. I could also faintly hear Kakashi's Chidori that was currently ripping through the chest of the ninja that had thrown the kunai._

_I don't care what people say about a near-death experience. No, everything was not numb. No, my life did not flash before my eyes. And no, I did not feel tranquil._

_It hurts._

_I clutched at the kunai sticking out of my abdomen, and watched as my brother held the kunai in my shoulder and pulled it out._

_Shit._

"_Y-you're gonna be o-okay, N-Naruto. You're gonna b-be okay, I promise…" he stuttered in shock. I was already shaking my head. We both knew I was not going to be okay._

_I said something then. What did I say? I can't remember, but whatever it was, it triggered tears to pour, and my brother held me in his arms and cried._

"_No! Please, don't die!"_

_I closed my eyes. I'm just a little tired, Nii-san. There's nothing to worry about._

_My eyes never opened again._

Oh, now I'm close to tears. It's just the look on my brother's face…

I cover my mouth with my hand and groan. The panic was rising again.

What did I say? What did I say to my precious brother?

I looked at my brother, sitting by my side. The panic suddenly disappeared.

Oh. I remember now. I said…

"_I love you too."_

Both my brother and I spoke the words aloud.

A sudden bright white light appeared a few metres away. It expanded, until it was just a little bit taller than me.

I can see the light… how cliché.

I get up, and give my grieving brother one last hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"Good-bye, Nii-san."

It would take a while, but I know my brother is strong. With the help of everybody, he will heal.

I meander towards the light, not really worried about it vanishing. I stop in front of it, and take a last look at Konoha. The village that had raised me for 16 years.

I didn't say good-bye, because not only had I eaten my chocolates, I had also recycled my box. I'm sure my future reincarnation will have many lovely chocolates.

I smile, face the light, and step forward.

My name is Namikaze Naruto. I sacrificed my life for my brother. I hadn't expected to die. But if I had, I would still do it a million times over, then a million times again. Without a second thought.

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**The End**

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**A/N:** _Finished! It's changed a lot since I first thought of it. There's no funeral scene, and I was also going to show what Naruto did in the three days as a ghost, but oh well… Please review on what you think~_

**Translations:**

**Nii-san – Older Brother**

**Otouto – Little Brother**

**Yondaime - Fourth**

**Sandaime - Third  
**

**Hokage – Fire Shadow (Leader of Konohagakure)**

**Konoha - Leaf  
**

**Kawarimi – Body Replacement**

**Iie – No**

**Jounin – I think it's Senior Ninja or something…**

**Chunin – Middle Ninja**

**Rasengan - …Err, can't remember. Spinning Ball maybe.**

**Sharingan – Wheel Eye I think.**

**Kunai – Ninja throwing knife.**

**Hitai-ate – The head protector headband.**

**Chidori – A Thousand Birds(?)**

**Jutsu – Technique**

**-Sensei/Sensei – Teacher**

**-san - Suffix meaning close to Mr. Mrs...**

**-chan – Suffix used to show endearment, usually used for girls.**

_I think that's all._


End file.
